My Life as a Teenage Werewolf
by Ael L. Bolt
Summary: Prologue to a role play. Ael L. Bolt, American fouryearold, has her world turned upsidedown when she is bitten by a werewolf and has to move to Britain. When she gets a Hogwarts letter seven years later, everything gets weirder.
1. Curse of the Wolf

My Life As A Teenage Werewolf  
  
Ael L. Bolt  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Rating: PG to PG-13  
  
Timeframe: 1990-1998  
  
Genre: Fantasy/General  
  
Possible Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, QTTA, FB  
  
Summary: Ael L. Bolt was a charming four-year-old when a werewolf ruined her life. Now living in England with her family, what will happen when she is introduced to the magical world? Follow her life from the night she was bitten to her first year at Hogwarts.  
  
Disclaimer: Despite what the story tells you, I haven't actually written the Harry Potter series. JK Rowling does indeed exist, and she does indeed own Harry Potter and all associated paraphenalia. I am just borrowing her toys for a simple, slightly-AU fanfic. Aside from that, I own myself. Imagine that! ;) All kidding aside...Katrina Phillips, William Phillips, and Khense Nekire belong to Dark Jedi Princess, Ael L. Bolt belongs to...dundundun...Ael L. Bolt! That is to say, ME. :P Oh yeah, and I'm an American. Gasp, horror. I'm attempting to write this British-style - it IS Harry Potter, and my character lives in England - but if any Americanisms seep through, blame those damn Yankees.  
  
Author's Notes #1: No romance, no Mary Sues, no wildly-exaggerated powers. Nope, this girl's a normal werewolf with all the problems attached. And in case anyone starts getting ideas that she's gonna become one of Harry's fictional harem, guess again. Also, please note: Ael and her life (up to age 4) are based off a real person with their permission. Of course, it wasn't that hard to get permission from myself, but you know how it goes. ;) And before you start getting skeptical, the snake incident (aside from understanding what it said) is all true. There was a huge snake in our yard, and my dad nailed it in the head with an arrow. Damn thing didn't die until my mom took a shovel to it, chopped it into tiny pieces, and scattered them in the woods. She swears it was a zombie snake. ^_^;;;  
  
Author's Notes #2: Ael L. Bolt is not my real name. Ael is close to my first name which is Allison, and my middle initial is L but it doesn't stand for the same thing. Last but not least, my last name is not really Bolt. Surprise, surprise.  
  
Author's Notes #3: I have tampered with the timeline a bit. My brother is now three years older than he really is, and the nearest full moon to Halloween of 1990 was on November 2, but for the sake of the story it's Halloween. I've also muddied up my dad's past a bit. You'll see what I mean.  
  
Author's Notes #4: I realize Kat and Ael might seem a bit too gramatically- correct for four-year-olds. Even a bit long-winded. But hey, blame it on the whole Dark Creature thing. I'm too lazy to interview my mom's DayCare kids to see how they talk.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Prologue - A Young Parselmouth  
  
The Bolts were a charming little family in Munith, Michigan. They lived in a trailer park called Coachman's Cove near Portage Lake, and for all appearances they were a normal family. Mr. Bolt was a dark-haired man with a wonderful sense of humour, as well as a knack for bow hunting. His wife, Mrs. Bolt, was a beautiful brunette who ran a Child Care Centre. Their son, Christopher Lee, was only nine years old, but already he was very intelligent and often spent his time taking apart every mechanical device in the house. The other child in the family was a three-year-old girl named Ael. Ael had shiny blond hair and loved playing outside in the woods nearby with her older brother.  
  
On the day our story begins, it was a partly cloudy October day. Mrs. Bolt and the children were inside the trailer, watching a cartoon. Mr. Bolt and his hunting partner, John Ralph, were out on a hunting expedition. Everything appeared perfectly normal; an ordinary autumn day.  
  
Mr. Bolt's blue Thunderbird pulled into the park, and he got out, holding his bow in one hand and a large sack in the other. He walked around to the back of the trailer and put the sack on top of an old shed, then went into the building. "You won't believe this snake we found, Cindy!" he called to his wife. "It was out in the road, striking at cars."  
  
"You brought it home?" Mrs. Bolt said, somewhat frightened at the thought of an insane snake in the house.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, John and I killed it. Shot it in the head with an arrow. The DNR guy wasn't home, so we're going to have him look at it when he gets back. I don't know what kind of snake it was."  
  
"Where'd you put it, Rick?"  
  
"It's in a sack on top of the shed. The kids won't get into it, and the dog can't reach."  
  
From the hallway, Ael listened with interest. She liked snakes, and thought it was very mean of her daddy to shoot it. She didn't like it when he brought home dead deer either, but there wasn't really anything she could do about it.  
  
A few hours later...  
  
Mr. Bolt went out back to fetch the snake, and stopped when he saw the sack on the ground and its former prisoner slithering under the house. The snake was alive, and it was mad in addition to disoriented.  
  
Unnoticed by the adult, Ael sat on top of a large boulder next to the house, listening to the snake's hissing. "Ssstupid humansss," she heard. "You think you can get away with lotsss more than you can. Well, no more. Your territory isss mine now."  
  
Three days later, Mrs. Bolt finally killed the snake with a shovel and buried it in the woods. She didn't know that her daughter had understood the snake, and Ael didn't intend to tell her anytime soon. It was a secret.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Chapter One - Curse of the Wolf  
  
Four-year-old Ael skipped through the woods, happily munching on a bar of chocolate. It was Halloween, and her daddy was taking her trick-or- treating. The moon was full and the sky was dark, just the way Halloween should be - but rarely is - in Michigan.  
  
Mr. Bolt didn't like his children to roam the woods at night, but he was still at work and Ael's mother had told her she could wander for fifteen minutes. In a small trailer park like this, what could possibly happen?  
  
The first sign that something was wrong came with a rustling of bushes, and a low growl. Ael stopped and stared into the shadows, and a pair of reddish eyes glared back. A grey paw moved into the moonlight, followed by the large dusky head of a wolf. Its lips were curled in a snarl as it approached the young girl.  
  
Oblivious to the dangerous fangs, Ael wondered whose doggie it was. She stepped forward to pet it, and that is when it struck.  
  
The wolf lunged at the little girl, knocking her to the ground and sinking its teeth deep into her right shoulder. She screamed, and the wolf howled in pain at the shrill voice in its sensitive ears.  
  
A large tan blur leaped out, yowling, and slammed into the wolf, knocking it off the girl with a yip of pain. The cougar hissed, and slashed at the wolf with extended claws. The wolf took a step back, eyes flickering to the wounded girl, and tried to get around the huge cat. The cougar snapped at the canine, and the wolf withdrew with a loud, fierce howl of protest. In the blink of an eye, the cougar became a young man, who pointed a "stick" at the wolf and yelled "Stupefy!"  
  
The wolf slumped to the ground, unconscious, and the cougar-turned-man ran over to Ael. "Are you okay? Did he get you?"  
  
Ael nodded, sobbing in pain and shock. The blue-eyed man touched the bleeding bite wound carefully, and some of the pain receded. "Oh, you poor little girl...you've been marked by a werewolf. Your parents must be told. Where do you live?"  
  
Ael sniffed and pointed towards the trailer park. The man picked her up carefully, and for the first time she noticed that he was wearing some weird, extremely loose clothes of some kind. He tucked the wand - that's what the stick was - into a pocket and set off for the trailer.  
  
When they arrived, Mr. Bolt was just getting home. He saw the man, and his daughter held in his arms. "Bloody hell, Jake, please tell me you weren't out here with Xander tonight," he said, rushing over to take Ael from him.  
  
Jake looked downcast. "Sorry, Rick. I tried to stop him from biting her, but he already got her a good one before I could do anything."  
  
Mr. Bolt sighed explosively. "Can you two handle the mission here on your own? I get the feeling I'll be needing to move back home after my wife finds out. She's a Muggle, you know. And besides, I've heard there's a new potion out for werewolves; it's supposed to make the wolf more docile, but only a few Potion Masters know how to brew it and none of them are local."  
  
Jake nodded. "Xander and I can handle it, oh Mighty King of Curses." He let out a short chuckle, then glanced back towards the woods. "I'd better go back and find him, though, before the Stunning Spell wears off." In the blink of an eye, he became a cougar and disappeared into the forest.  
  
Mr. Bolt watched him go, then sighed and glanced down at Ael. "How am I going to tell your mother about all this?"  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Needless to say, Mrs. Bolt took it very well. Her first reaction was shock at the revelation that not only was her husband a wizard, but her daughter was now a werewolf. Then she got mad and slapped him for keeping it from her, but surprisingly enough, she was okay with it after that.  
  
Christopher, on the other hand, was ecstatic - not to mention relieved that there was explanation to how he once made a VCR levitate.  
  
Almost immediately, the Bolt family sold their trailer and moved away to Britain. They moved into 122 Randolph Avenue in Maida Vale, London, and from that point on were only American at heart.  
  
A month passed by quickly, and soon it was time for Ael's first transformation. Her father locked her in a small glass-door office with the family collie, Sheba, and set himself outside to make sure nothing went wrong. He made sure his wand was ready, in case he needed it for anything - once Ael was transformed, chances were she'd lose control of her own mind.  
  
A shaft of moonlight slowly crept into the room, and touched the werewolf girl. She stiffened as it appeared, and then shuddered. The change was beginning.  
  
Shaggy silver fur sprouted, bones shifted, claws grew from fingernails, a long bushy tail made itself known, and her very face grew out into a wolf's muzzle. Her weak human teeth sharpened into deadly fangs, and her ears became pointed and fuzzy.  
  
Within moments, the frightened young girl was replaced with a rather confused werepuppy. Sheba was also considerably puzzled.  
  
The larger dog leaned down and sniffed at the pup, who yipped back and bit her on the nose. The collie yelped, then nudged the werewolf with a paw. Ael-wolf blinked and scampered between the dog's legs, nipping at her tail as she went past. Sheba spent the next five minutes trying to keep a suddenly-hyper wolf pup off her tail.  
  
Mr. Bolt smiled. "It looks like she's going to be alright."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
And Ael was more than alright, she was downright glad to be a werewolf, for the most part. Every full moon, she and Sheba would be locked into the office together, with her father to watch with wand and aconite ready, just in case.  
  
Spring arrived, and with it came the chance to pay a visit to Paddington Rec, a nearby park. Ael immediately fell in love with a circular garden that had a brick wall around it. Her parents also realized that it would make a perfect place for a werepuppy on the night of the full moon: the wolf had plenty of space to run and play, no one would be around to see her, and best of all there would be no danger of her breaking out and either running away or biting someone else.  
  
And so, on the night of April 28, 1991, Ael caught her first glimpse of Katrina Phillips.  
  
The transformation had come as always; a touch of silvery moonlight and a sickening, but brief, change into what most considered a man-eating monster. This time was Ael's first night in the garden, and her wolf half absolutely loved it. No pesky humans, lots of things to smell, and plenty of flowerbeds to trash out and leave the Muggles wondering.  
  
Sheba, who was now somewhat adjusted to the monthly routine, calmly supervised the werepuppy as she scampered around the enclosed area, trampling newly-grown flowers and digging deep holes in the dirt.  
  
The moon rose to its highest point not long afterward, and its soft glow caught the pup's attention. Fascinated, she sat back on her haunches and stared up at it, then leaned back and did something she'd never done before.  
  
"AwrOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!"  
  
Sheba jumped in surprise as a long, pure howl was issued from the werepup's muzzle. She eyed the younger canine warily, and as the note descended into silence, she let out a short howl of her own.  
  
The werepuppy caught onto the game immediately, and promptly howled again, this time higher in pitch and much, much louder than before. The alternating notes were almost like music; the songs of the wolves. And though Sheba was a collie, not a wolf, somewhere back in her ancestry was the more primitive lupine instincts of pack and pride.  
  
A rustling of feet on grass caught the werepup's attention, and she bounded over to the gate to poke her head through the iron bars. A relatively short shadow was struggling against a much taller one, growling under her breath and straining towards the garden. The taller figure was getting somewhat exasperated. "Be QUIET, Katrina," the male voice said.  
  
The werepuppy sniffed at the air, trying to place the scent of the two odd creatures. They smelled faintly of coppery blood, with traces of a burning fear-scent that wasn't actually coming from them - rather, it was as if they had been in contact with a very frightened person recently. Overlaid on top of this odd combination was a sour tang, something that definitely did NOT smell as if it would be something even remotely good to eat.  
  
Sheba was growling nervously, herding the werepup away from the gate. And just in time. The moon's last rays disappeared, and the young wolf was replaced by Ael. She blinked blearily at the big collie, who licked her hand in an attempt to reorient her quicker.  
  
Mr. Bolt appeared from the shadows and stopped as he saw the two dark figures on the grass. He pulled out his wand and raised it warily as he walked up to the gate. Still watching them, he unlatched the gate and picked up his exhausted daughter.  
  
"Harbouring werewolves, are we, Bolt?"  
  
Mr. Bolt tensed at the sudden voice, but relaxed - very slightly - as he recognized it. "You might say that, Phillips."  
  
The taller shadow, still holding the smaller, struggling one, stepped out into the faint glow of starlight. The subtle gleam off two pointed fangs gave him a dangerous aura, and though he was dressed in black it only served to make his pale skin stand out more obviously. "I must admit, I didn't expect to see you of all people back in London so soon," he said. "Why aren't you in America, hunting my kind?"  
  
Mr. Bolt shot him a glare. "The mission got cut short. Blame Xander. He bit my daughter, the neighbors were upset, we moved. End of story."  
  
The vampire nodded, and ignored another whine of "Daaaaaaad!" from the girl in his grasp. "That is your child, then?"  
  
Mr. Bolt looked down at Ael, who had at some point fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. "Yes. You've obviously got one of your own, and a vampire at that, I presume?"  
  
"It could not be any other way. You know that."  
  
Mr. Bolt decided to cut the chatter and get right to the point. "Look, Phillips, I know you were a Slytherin and I was a Hufflepuff, but House rivalry shouldn't really matter anymore, should it? At least not for our daughters. They really could be good friends, if you let them. They're both Dark Creatures, you know...they could have a lot to bond over."  
  
The vampire raised an eyebrow. "You think?"  
  
"Yes, I do. I admit that the House rivalry was stupid, and is even more so now than it was before. Let's put it behind us, or at least let our children be friends if we cannot."  
  
The vampire considered that for a moment. "Indeed, Bolt. It seems that Hufflepuff instincts do indeed resolve certain situations. Very well, I will consent."  
  
The vampire girl growled, and yelled, "Dad, LET GO!" She was obviously not listening to the conversation between the two Hogwarts alumni, despite the fact that it concerned herself.  
  
"Let her go, Phillips."  
  
The vampire did as he was asked, albeit reluctantly. He looked down at his daughter with a stern look on his pale face. "Stay away from Mr. Bolt's dog, Katrina. Do you understand?"  
  
Katrina scowled, both at the new rule and the fact that her father had used her full first name, but she nodded. "I'm hungry."  
  
The vampire waved her off. "Yes, yes, I'll get you something in a minute. So, Bolt, shall we have the girls meet a week from tomorrow? I assume your daughter will be recovered by then."  
  
"Indeed. That works fine." Mr. Bolt nodded. "See you later, Phillips." He glanced down at the patiently waiting collie. "Come, Sheba. We're going home."  
  
To be continued... 


	2. An American Werewolf in London

Chapter Two - An American Werewolf in London  
  
Kat and Ael hit it off right away. Being the so-called "Dark Creatures" that they were, they had a lot in common and almost immediately formed a bond of friendship. Prone to fits of mischief, they would often scheme together and pull pranks on their parents, neighbors, and what-have-you. Each month, Kat would accompany Ael and Sheba to Paddington Rec as the werewolf underwent her transformation, and sometimes the young vampire would unlock the gate and let her run free for a few hours, making sure she didn't stray too close to houses and therefore people.  
  
As summer rolled around, Kat had to spend more time at home due to the increase in sunlight. This left a very bored werewolf at 122 Randolph Ave, and it seemed the summer would last forever.  
  
That is, until a large brown owl swooped through the window of the living room.  
  
The owl landed on the back of a couch and hooted at Ael, holding out its leg to her. She saw some kind of weird paper tied to it, and warily accepted the note from the bird. It hooted again, then took off out the window.  
  
Ael watched it leave, then turned to the envelope. Having learned how to read at an early age, she recognized her brother's name written on the outside in green ink. "Chris, you've got a letter!" she called.  
  
Christopher descended the stairs, looking somewhat puzzled. "I thought the mail already came."  
  
She held up the envelope. "This one was by owl post, not Muggle mail."  
  
Christopher opened it and pulled out a sheet of parchment. "Dear Mister Bolt," he read out loud, "we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" He gaped at it. "This is my school letter!"  
  
"You finally got it?" Mr. Bolt asked happily as he came inside. "Excellent!"  
  
"When are we gonna go get my school stuff?" Christopher asked eagerly.  
  
"We'll go to Diagon Alley tomorrow," he decided. "We'll all go. It'll be good for Ael to know what it looks like, so she'll be used to it when she gets her letter in a few years." Ael grinned at that.  
  
"Can I get an owl, Dad?" Christopher pleaded, bouncing with excitement.  
  
"This is a house, not a zoo!" Mrs. Bolt's voice came from downstairs.  
  
Mr. Bolt laughed nervously. "Er...I'll have to talk to your mother on that one."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
The next day, Mr. Bolt transfigured one of the coal-burning fireplaces into a huge old-fashioned one. After giving his children an in-depth lecture on Floo powder, they proceeded to Floo to The Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"Welcome back, Rick!" another man called. He forced his way through the crowd, a young brown-haired boy following. The man looked down at Christopher and Ael. "Ah, these must be your children."  
  
Mr. Bolt nodded. "Amos, this is my son, Christopher. He's starting Hogwarts this year." Ael tugged on his leg, so he picked her up. "And this is my daughter, Ael."  
  
Amos nudged the tagalong boy. "Say hello, Cedric. We Diggorys are polite folk."  
  
Cedric mumbled a greeting and pretended to busy himself with a model Golden Snitch.  
  
"Cedric is starting his second year at Hogwarts," Mr. Diggory said proudly. "I'm positive he'll make the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, now that Carrie O'Rielly has graduated."  
  
Cedric's Snitch suddenly took flight and zipped out of the boy's hands, circling once around Christopher and blazing past Mr. Bolt's head. Ael's arm shot out, and she snagged one of its wings. She giggled as the tiny ball fluttered in her hands, and the others just stared.  
  
"Your girl's a Seeker if I ever saw one!" Mr. Diggory exclaimed.  
  
Ael tossed the Snitch to Cedric. "Daddyyyy, I thought you said we were gonna get Chris' stuff from Diagon Alley!" she griped.  
  
Mr. Bolt shook himself out of shock. "Yes. Well. It was nice to see you again, Amos. If you ever want to drop by Randolph Ave, please feel free."  
  
"Likewise," Mr. Diggory replied. "Come on Cedric." The two Diggorys headed towards the London-side door.  
  
Mr. Bolt settled Ael on his shoulders, then headed from the small courtyard in the back. He pulled out his wand and tapped a brick with it, prompting the enchanted wall to rearrange itself into an archway.  
  
"Christopher, Ael...this is Diagon Alley."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Mr. Bolt took Christopher to get his school things, and the two children stared in awe at each new thing they passed. It took a few minutes to pull Ael away from the magical creature shop, as she had discovered the amusing things the snakes were saying to the unsuspecting humans.  
  
Christopher did indeed get an owl; a huge eagle owl that he dubbed Artoo, for some obscure reason. His books, quills, and ink were easily found, although it took awhile for him to find a wand that was right for him (ten inches, willow and unicorn tail hair). Ael felt slightly left out, until Mr. Bolt bought her an enchanted storybook and a practice Snitch "for the extremely young Quidditch players - or so you hope."  
  
All too soon, the time came to Floo home. Ael cast a last glance into the Alley - incidentally seeing two identical redheaded boys turn their older brother into a chicken - and then re-entered her home.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
September was so successful and concealing its approach, the Bolt family was surprised to wake early one morning and discover that it was the first of aforementioned month. This fact led the magical members of the Bolt family to Kings Cross Station in London.  
  
Christopher and Ael watched in amazement as a rather clumsy-looking boy with a toad on his head stepped *through* the barrier between Platform Nine and Platform Ten.  
  
"Excuse me, sir!" The call came from a bushy-haired first year, accompanied by what looked like her Muggle parents.  
  
"Yes?" Mr. Bolt answered politely.  
  
"I can't seem to find Platform Nine and Three Quarters," she admitted, looking frustrated. She paused, and looked him over. "You are a wizard, right sir?"  
  
"Yes, I am. Here, Christopher, let's show the lady and her parents how it's done," he said to his son. "Just walk right at the barrier, and don't be scared."  
  
Christopher nodded, and promptly disappeared through the barrier. Mr. Bolt smiled at the dumbstruck trio, then picked up Ael and ran through the barrier himself.  
  
"Come, Christopher, let's load your things on the train and find you a seat."  
  
Soon, frantically late sudents and their families - among them the redheaded family from the Alley with a raven-haired, bespectacled boy tagging along - were rushing through the barrier, scrambling for available seats. Christopher hugged his father and sister, and promised to write as often as he could, before the Hogwarts Express pulled away from the platform and towards the Scottish highlands.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Hi Dad! Hey Ael! Guess what House I'm in! (No, Dad, I'm not a Hufflepuff.) I was almost a Hufflepuff, but I ended up in Ravenclaw instead.  
  
Remember how you told us about Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived? He's here at Hogwarts, right now! He's a Gryffindor (big surprise there, eh?), but I got to meet him and he's a really nice kid. Not what I expected at all. A bit short, maybe, but I'm sure that won't last.  
  
Well I'll write more later, I'm gonna be late for Potions!  
  
Christopher Lee  
  
P.S. Snape is a slimy git!  
  
Mr. Bolt chuckled at the letter his son had sent. Ael was a little confused by the post-script, but she was intrigued by the part about Harry Potter. Ever since she'd heard what he did, she had wondered if she'd ever see him in person.  
  
"I'm going to write back to your brother," Mr. Bolt said. "Do you want me to give him a message from you?"  
  
"Just ask him what Harry Potter looks like, and what year he's in," she replied immediately. Then she headed off towards the door.  
  
"Hey, where are you going?"  
  
Ael opened the door. "To Kat's place. She owled me earlier. Said she wanted me to meet someone." And with that, she transformed into a werepuppy and took off in the direction of 7 Abbey Gardens.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Upon Ael's arrival at Kat's house, she flung open the door and yelled "Hey Lucy, I'm hooome!"  
  
There was the sound of hyperactive bouncing down the stairs, and she was instantly tackled by the blond-haired vampire. Behind her was a white-haired boy, who regarded them calmly and somewhat curiously.  
  
Ael and Kat stopped hugging, and Ael looked Khense up and down before raising an eyebrow. "So, is this your little boyfriend?" she asked teasingly.  
  
"Uhh... boyfriend?" Kat said, confused. "Ael, I just met him a few hours ago." A sheepish grin flickered across her face.  
  
The boy blushed, but held out his hand. "I'm Khense Nekire," He said, rather timidly.  
  
'Oooh, he's blushiiiiing!' Ael snickered inwardly. She immediately grabbed Khense's hand and proceeded to shake his entire arm with the force of a bodybuilder swinging a bullwhip. "Hiya, Khense! Nice to meetcha!" she chirped in her best hyper tone.  
  
"Wha...how...nyergh?" Khense sputtered in shock, rubbing his arm (which Ael had rendered completely numb).  
  
"Oh, didn't Kat tell you? I'm a werewolf," she said deadpan, struggling to keep from howling (quite literally) with laughter.  
  
Khense blinked, then slapped his forehead. "That explains so much!" 


	3. Teen Wolf

Author's Notes: I know, I know, it's been awhile since last update - but if you're all good and give me nice reviews, I'll update more this weekend. Seeing as I'll have little homework, as I'm taking final exams tomorrow and the day after. Soon, my friends, this fic will be over and the Sixth Year From Hell begins! MWAHAHAHAAAA!  
  
Also note: this chapter is a bit darker than the previous ones. Ael is going Savage, and this means general nastiness for any nearby.  
  
Chapter summary: Ael and Kat gain new instincts, and the girls (plus Khense) go off to Hogwarts for their first year, meeting a strange group of ickle firsties as they go. Also appearing are the famed Trio of Hogwarts (Harry, Hermione, and Ron) and others of their year.  
  
Disclaimer: The Sorting Hat song belongs to me, as I spent quite a bit of sweat and tears trying to get it to rhyme and fit in with the rhythm. The Phillips family and Khense Nekire belong to Dark Jedi Princess, Ael Bolt and her family belong to myself, Christana Montgomery belongs to Kawaii Spinel Queen of Evil, Connemara belongs to Klanna, Zelgadis and Rezo Greywers belong to the people who own the anime "Slayers," James Howlett and Peter Parker belong to Marvel Comics (X-Men and Spider-Man, respectively). Anyone you recognize belongs to JK Rowling, and anyone else you don't belongs to some other RP-er or is a "filler" character created by Kat and/or myself.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Chapter Three - Teen Wolf  
  
Five years later, nine-year-old Ael locked herself in her garden in Paddington Rec. Kat sat on the top of the brick wall, and Khense was literally up a tree.  
  
Ael looked toward the horizon. "Won't be long now," she announced. "Moonrise in five...four...three...two...one..."  
  
Right on cue, the first silver rays of moonlight crept across the well- manicured lawn, flowerbeds, and saplings, finally coming to rest on the young werewolf's skin. She shut her eyes tight against the pain of transformation as the sickening changes got underway.  
  
Something was different. Not because Sheba was no longer with her, but something in the transformation itself. "Kat...something's wrong!" she tried to warn her friend, but all that emerged from her shifting throat was a ragged howl.  
  
Luckily, Kat seemed to get the picture. "Khense, stay in the tree! She's gone Savage!"  
  
Khense paled, let out a squeak, and scrambled further up the foliage.  
  
Ael made the transition to werewolf, her vision going light red. She growled, sniffing at the air. The breeze carried the putrid scent of vampire flesh, but underlying it was the sweet aroma of human meat. She threw back her head and howled savagely, saliva dripping from her fangs. She charged at the wall, throwing her body against it and trying to reach the tantalizing flavour of human. She shrieked in fury at her inability to reach the succulent one, and began tearing her own flanks in rage.  
  
Disgusting-smelling arms wrapped around her from behind, and she snarled at the vampire. The girl stubbornly held on as the werewolf tried to buck her off, and the beast snapped at sour fingers. Fangs tore flesh and scraped bone, but the vampire refused to let go. Claws tore deep furrows in the girl's side and legs, and still she clung to the powerful animal's back.  
  
The werewolf let out an enraged howl, splitting the silence of the park and making the flowers shake. Khense squeaked again and climbed higher in his tree, trying to shut out the sounds of carnage from beneath him.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Dawn broke, and with it the trio awoke. Ael and Kat, the walking wounded, both had to lean on Khense as the frightened boy led them back to Kat's house.  
  
Mr. Phillips was stunned when he opened the door to see two thoroughly-torn- up girls and one panicked boy on the doorstep. He swept Kat off to her room, muttering something about vampiric healing and werewolf bites. Ael gave up trying to find a chair and just sat down against a wall, feeling dizzy and ill.  
  
Mrs. Phillips appeared from nowhere and began binding up the werewolf's self-inflicted wounds, whispering reassurances in an unrecognizable language. Ael blinked up at her, struggling to speak. "Call my dad...send an owl...let him know."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Needless to say, the consequences were not pretty. The Muggle newspaper displayed a front-page article about an apparent dog attack that had happened in Paddington Rec. Muggle policemen were baffled at the blood and signs of struggle, since the gates had been locked and pawprints were all over the garden. The Daily Prophet, on the other hand, claimed a renagade werewolf had escaped confinement and was terrorizing small children.  
  
The personal effects weren't quite as dramatic. Kat healed, although it took several weeks. Ael was out like a light for two days, and had to wear bandages for a few more after that. Khense, on the other hand, almost had to go to a psychiatrist but talked his parents out of it.  
  
A year later, Kat went through a vampire Awakening and the results were worse. Kat suffered Holy Water burns (thanks to Ael's quick thinking when her friend tried to escape), Khense once again was scared out of his mind for days, and Ael was quite shaken. The newspapers didn't pick up anything, to their extreme relief, but the wizarding neighbors found it quite suspicious.  
  
Another year went by, and with it came two envelopes with emerald green ink, bearing a stamp with an H and four animals.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Ael eyed the Hogwarts Express as she unloaded her trunk from the trolley. Finally, she was old enough to go to Hogwarts!  
  
"Oh, I hope you'll be a Ravenclaw," Christopher was saying as he picked up Artoo's cage. "I can show you around the tower, and the classrooms, and all the trick steps-"  
  
Ael tuned him out. It was Christopher's last year and he'd managed to earn Prefect status. For some reason, he found it exciting that Ael was finally a first-year (go figure).  
  
Ael picked up the cage containing Jewlz, her snowy owl. Ael loved snowy owls, and she knew that having a rare owl would let the reciever know exactly who the letter was from without seeing the signature.  
  
"Come on, sis, I'll introduce you to the others," Christopher said, and bounded onto the train.  
  
The first compartment contained a group of Ravenclaws whom Christopher introduced as Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Lisa Turpin, and Padma Patil. After she managed to seperate the dormmates, Ael got to meet Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas of Gryffindor. Three unpleasant-looking Slytherins were pointed out to her as Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle.  
  
The last compartment was the Ael had been waiting for. Inside was a girl with red hair, her older brother, a bushy-haired girl, and a bespectacled young man with raven hair.  
  
"Hey guys," Christopher said, poking his head into the compartment. "I'm showing my sister Ael around. She's a first-year this year." He turned to Ael. "This is Ginny and Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."  
  
Ael didn't bother looking for the scar. She knew that untamed mane of his would hide it, and he probably got enough of that from other people anyway. Instead she gave them all a megawatt smile. "Nice to meet you all," she said truthfully. "I'm Ael Lytning Bolt."  
  
Harry gave her an incredelous look. "That'd better not be a joke at my expense," he said cautiously.  
  
"I swear, it's my real middle name," she said, holding up her hands mock- defensively. "My parents have an odd sense of humour." She paused for a moment. "Well, that and this," she added, and held up a hand. Electricity crackled around it, emanating from her fingers.  
  
"Ah, that explains a lot," Hermione said, eyes lighting up. "So you're the werewolf I've heard so much about."  
  
"Er...yeah, that's me." She let the electricity fade away. "It isn't all over the school already, is it?"  
  
"No," Harry assured her. "It's just us and a few Ravenclaws. Your brother is very...talkative." Christopher looked offended, but Harry continued before he could object. "Besides, one of my dad's friends - the DADA teacher from my third year - is a werewolf too."  
  
"I've heard about him," Ael agreed, pleased at the good attitude towards her kind. "Remus Lupin, right?"  
  
"Exactly the one," Ron agreed.  
  
"Which type was he?" The four Gryffindors all held blank stares, so she elaborated. "What type of lycanthrope?"  
  
"He's a Type 2A," Hermione said, looking as if she wanted to smack herself in the face for not realizing what she meant sooner.  
  
"Hmm, that's where we differ," Ael mused aloud. "I'm a Type 2B. Close but no cigar, ya know?"  
  
Without due warning, a smirking blond vampire made her entrance. "There you are!"  
  
Ael didn't bother turning around, since she recognized the voice - plus she smelled her friend ever since she'd gone through the barrier. "Hey, Kat."  
  
"I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been?" Kat demanded, mock-offended. Khense, who was in the hallway behind her, sniggered a bit at the mother hen tone Kat had adopted.  
  
"Right here, you know that."  
  
"Well, come on then." She grabbed Ael by the ear and started dragging her away.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Come on. We've got to find a compartment."  
  
"See you guys at the feast, I guess." Christopher said, blinking.  
  
"Okay. LET GO OF MY EAR!" Ael growled.  
  
Kat gave her an amused look, but let go before Ael decided her hand was a chew toy. Khense looked around.  
  
"I don't think there are any empty compartments," he ventured nervously.  
  
Kat and Ael shared a knowing glance, then sighed and began looking for a compartment that didn't have too many people in it.  
  
Towards the middle of the train, the trio came across such a compartment. Kat knocked on the sliding door.  
  
"Come in!" a cheerful voice called.  
  
Kat slid open the door. A girl with light blue eyes and mousy-brown, waist- length hair greeted them from the window seat. "Hiya!" the grinning girl said.  
  
"Do you mind if we join you?" Ael asked. She sniffed the air slightly, and couldn't pick up even a whiff of fear or unfriendliness.  
  
"Nope. Have a seat." Ael immediately took it upon herself to flop down on the nearest seat and kick her feet up to rest on the back it. Khense chuckled a bit at this as he and Kat sat down as well.  
  
"My name's Christana Montgomery, but you can call me Chris," the new girl introduced herself.  
  
"I'm Ael Lytning Bolt," Ael drawled, letting some of her old mideast- American accent come through. "Don't ask why; the parental units have an odd sense of humour."  
  
"Didn't doubt it for a second."  
  
"I'm Katrina Tariene Phillips, but you can call me Kat," Kat stated with a smile.  
  
"Khense Denari Nekire," Khense said. "And before you ask, it's a Khemetic name." Chris blinked at him. "Egyptian," Khense clarified.  
  
"Oh, I see. what's that around your neck?" She pointed to the scarab beetle pendant Khense had worn since the age of nine.  
  
"Oh. this has been in my family for as long as we can remember," he said, holding it up. "None of us quite know what it does, only that we've had it since ancient times. My father gave it to me two years ago."  
  
"Oh, cool!" Chris grinned. "So, you three are first-years?"  
  
"Yep," Ael confirmed, nodding.  
  
"So'm I. Know what House you'll be in?"  
  
"No, but I have a sneaky suspicion it'll be Slytherin," Kat mused. "Both my parents were Slytherins, as were Khense's."  
  
Chris nodded in comprehension, and glanced over at the other girl. "Ael? What about you?"  
  
"You think I know?" she snorted. "My family House seems to be the Mutt. My Dad was a Hufflepuff, and my brother's a Ravenclaw, so I've got no idea which House I'll be in." She shrugged. "I don't really care which House I get in, as long as I get to play Seeker."  
  
"Ooh, you like Quidditch?" Chris asked eagerly. "So do I. I'd rather be Keeper, though."  
  
"Keeper?" Kat snorted. "Come on, Chaser is the way to go!"  
  
As you can imagine, dear reader, the conversation quickly degenerated into a debate over Quidditch positions and broomstick stances. So involved in the conversation they were, none of them noticed the time flying by until the train began to slow down. Ael blinked and looked out the dark window. "Hey, we're coming up on Hogsmeade! Shouldn't we be changing into our robes?"  
  
"Gah, I didn't notice it was so late!" Kat exclaimed, then set to shoving Khense out of the compartment with a blush on her face. "No peeking. Girls only."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Ael gaped up at the ceiling of the Great Hall as the first-years were lead in. A scattering of owls fluttered about in the rafters, which were half- visible through the cloud layer. A handful of stars managed to poke holes in the thick soupy mess up above, but for the most part it was dark and cloudy outside - and, by proxy, INSIDE as well.  
  
Up ahead, in front of the entire school, was an old three-legged stool with a battered hat on it. Ael stared at it as she approached, her werewolf senses detecting some kind of enchantment on the hat. It helped her block out the nervous vibrations she was getting due to the presence of so much genuine silver cutlery.  
  
Abruptly, the Hat began to sing.  
  
**A tattered hat, I look to you  
  
There isn't much you see me do  
  
Yes, I can sing, but more than that  
  
I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
  
And after I have sung my song  
  
I'll place you where you belong  
  
In Hufflepuff, with loyal kin  
  
Your hardworking will help you win  
  
Or Ravenclaw, where go the smart  
  
Who value brains above the heart  
  
Perhaps in Slytherin you'll be  
  
Ambitious, cunning, and sneaky  
  
But maybe you're for Gryffindor  
  
With courage, brav'ry, and valour  
  
Just put me on and I will say  
  
Which House will cheer for you today  
  
I can't be bribed, I can't be beat  
  
Changing my mind would be a feat  
  
I'm unbiased and partial, too  
  
So let's just see which House fits you!**  
  
The Hall burst into applause as the song ended, and Ael saw most of the first-years gazing at the Hat in amazement. The stern-looking professor who had led them there unfurled a roll of parchment, and began to read names.  
  
"Ashe, Scott!" A nervous-looking first-year boy stepped forward, and within seconds was Sorted into Hufflepuff. "Aquilis, Kira!" was likewise Sorted into Slytherin.  
  
"Bolt, Ael!"  
  
Yup, I knew I was near the top of the list, Ael thought to herself as she put the Hat on.  
  
'Aha, another young werewolf has finally come to Hogwarts,' the Hat said in her head. 'If I'm not mistaken, that means you're a Dark Creature. I take it you want to be a Slytherin, then?'  
  
No! Not Slytherin, she scolded it.  
  
'Are you sure? You're rather devious and cunning. I see a fondness for humor at the expense of others.'  
  
Put me in Slytherin and I'll rip you to shreds with my teeth.  
  
'All right, no need to get offensive...perhaps Ravenclaw? You seem to have a remarkable intelligence level for someone your age, not to mention your wandless magic.'  
  
Sorry, I think not. I don't really want to be kept in the same dorm as my brother for an entire year. He's a bit garrulous.  
  
'Ah, say no more, young Bolt. I understand completely. Hmm...you're a very loyal, hardworking person. Hufflepuff like your father?'  
  
Dream on! I look awful in yellow and black.  
  
'Well, all that's left is GRYFFINDOR!'  
  
Ael sauntered over to the Gryffindor table, giving the Hat a dirty look as she went.  
  
She zoned out for most of the Sorting, only waking up long enough to see "Greywers, Zelgadis" get Sorted into Slytherin (such a shame, because she thought he was pretty cute, unlike his twin brother Rezo who ended up in Gryffindor) and "Howlett, James" into Slytherin as well.  
  
All the cute guys get Slytherin, she decided grumpily.  
  
Christana was immediately put into Slytherin, as was Khense right after her. After "Parker, Peter" was Sorted into Gryffindor, it was Kat's turn.  
  
It really wasn't any mystery where she was going. Kat was Sorted into Slytherin. Rats, I picked the wrong House! Ael had to fight the sudden urge to run back up there and demand a recount. Kat shot her a pitying look.  
  
Ael fought the urge to growl out loud. She was a Gryffindor, a bloody Gryffindor while all of her other friends were in Slytherin. It wasn't fair. The only people she really knew in Gryffindor were the Terrific Trio, and they probably wouldn't appreciate a worship-the-ground-you-walk-on first-year tagalong. Not that she WAS one, mind you, but they would most likely think she was. She'd heard stories about a certain Colin Creevey back in 1992...  
  
So deep in her thought was she, her mind was completely taken off of the presence of silver until her hand brushed against her fork. She bit back a yelp and jerked her hand away, massaging the slight burn that was there. Crud. Forgot that was there.  
  
The Sorting had finished while she was cursing her bad fortune, and the Headmaster stood up at the staff table. "New students, welcome to Hogwarts!" Dumbledore said, his voice immediately quieting the students. "Old friends, nice to see you again! There is a time for speeches, but this is not it. Eat up!"  
  
And with that, the tables were suddenly full of food. Ael's mouth dropped open at the tide of mouthwatering scents slammed into her sensitive nose. Beef, chicken, pork, potatoes, fresh salad, soup of all kinds...this wasn't a meal, it was a BANQUET!  
  
She wasted no time in piling her plate high with various meats and side dishes, being careful to select items that she could eat with her hands without looking suspicious. With a chicken leg in one hand and a gold goblet of pumpkin juice in the other, she dug in, doing her best to ignore the ever-present malicious silver.  
  
When the girl next to her dropped her soup-covered spoon on Ael's leg, however, she couldn't hold back a startled cry. The redhead quickly picked it up, apologizing. "Oh, I'm sorry!" the VERY Irish girl said, face turning red in embarassment.  
  
Ael smiled faintly, knowing that the girl thought she was worried about food getting on her pants. "It's okay, er...sorry, I think I missed your name...?"  
  
"Connemara," she replied, offering her other hand to the werewolf. "Connemara O'Neil, from Donegal."  
  
"Ael Bolt," Ael told her in turn, taking her hand and giving it a quick shake. "Originally from the colonies, now living in London."  
  
"Aha, a Yankee!" Connemara grinned at her. "Never met someone from across the pond before. Why'd you move?"  
  
"Ah." She faltered, frantically casting about for an excuse. "Well, thing is...er...it's kind of something I don't want the other Houses to know. I actually have to tell all of Gryffindor about it after we go to the dorm."  
  
Connemara raised an eyebrow. "Right. Something to do with your lineage or something?"  
  
"No no, my Dad's a pureblood and my mom's a Muggle, but it doesn't have any bearing on this," Ael assured her. She paused. "Wait, you're not one of those snobs who thinks that purebloods are superior, are you?"  
  
"No, I'm a pureblood but I'm not biased." Connemara shrugged. "I never quite understood the whole pureblood vs. Muggleborn thing. I mean, we're all magical, right?"  
  
"Exactly," Ael agreed wholeheartedly, taking a bite out of her porkchop. "Any specific views on vampires? Werewolves? Parselmouths?"  
  
Connemara shrugged again as she went back to her meal. "As long as they're not trying to suck out me blood, eat me, or sic a snake on me, I'm okay with them. Why do you ask?"  
  
Ael bit her lip and glanced over at the Slytherin table, searching for the familiar blond hair that she had come to know so well over the past six years. "Well..." She used a chicken bone to gesture towards Kat. "First off, see that girl? Yeah, the blond one, Kat. She's me best mate growing up, and she's a vampire." All of this was said in a low voice that didn't carry any further than the intended recipient. She bit her lip, debating whether to tell her more, and threw caution to the wind. "And as for the werewolves and parselmouths...well, that's what I need to tell the rest of the House."  
  
Connemara's eyes showed understanding after a moment. "Ooh, you mean, you're a lycanthrope? AND a Parselmouth?"  
  
"Yep, that's me. Ael the Wonder Werewolf and resident Snake-Speaker," she deadpanned. She gave the other girl a hesitant smile. "Still feel okay with it?"  
  
"Are you kidding? I want to know what it's like!" She paused, and then quickly added, "Not that I WANT to be a Dark Creature, I mean hearing a first-person account of the whole thing..."  
  
"It's okay, I knew what you meant. I wouldn't bite you even if you wanted me to, though." Now that her secret was out, at least to this new friend, she was able to say something that she'd been dying to say for the past five minutes. "Er, speaking of me being a werewolf, would you mind pointing that fork someplace else?" she asked, eyes flicking down to the silverware that Connemara was holding uncomfortably close to her arm.  
  
Connemara looked down, and quickly pulled it away. "Oh, sorry. I forgot, this stuff is real silver. Want me to get your own away from you?"  
  
Ael shook her head, surprised at the offer. "It'll look strange to the other Houses, let alone our own. I can handle it, as long as you don't shove it into my lap or anything." She showed the other girl her hand, where a small burn could still be seen. "Werewolves one-oh-one: this is what split-second contact with silver does."  
  
"Ouch. Looks painful."  
  
"Trust me, prolonged contact is even worse. So no food fights." With a sudden flare of mischief, she scooped up half a baked potato and smashed it on her new friend's forehead, smirking at the Irish girl's shocked expression. "Well, what I mean is that you can't fight back."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Four sauteed mushrooms, three pumpkin pastries, two peppermint humbugs, and a partridge in a pear tree later, the food fight was broken up by sixth year prefect Colin Creevey and the new Gryffindors were sent up to Gryffindor Tower. Although she knew the rest of the students were likely tired and wanting nothing more than to sleep, she got Harry to call them all into the common room for a quick announcement.  
  
"Er...right," she said, clearing her throat. "Sorry about keeping you from sleeping, but I just wanted you to know that you'll be rooming with a werewolf from now on." Aha, NOW they were all awake. "But don't worry, I've got a good friend who makes Wolfsbane Potion like an expert - and she's been brewing it for three years so I should hope so - and I'll be locked away from humans each full moon." She gave them a weak smile. "Just thought I should get that into the open. Good night."  
  
TBC... 


	4. Werewolf? There Wolf!

A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than most, which I apologize for. Also, parseltongue will now be in brackets and quotations ["like this."]  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
~  
  
Chapter Four - Werewolf? There Wolf!  
  
~  
  
"Hey Ael, pass me the boomslang eyes."  
  
Ael sighed and tossed the jar to Kat. Thankfully, Snape wasn't watching them at the time, and the irresponsible handling of his precious ingredients wasn't noticed. It was their first Potions class, early Friday morning, and already the Gryffindors were hating the mean old Potions Master. Within the first five minutes, thirty points were taken from Connemara for being two minutes late, twenty from Akiru for humming, and fifteen from Ael for asking Kat to hand her a dragon's tooth.  
  
She wasn't sure what exactly they were brewing, as she had not been paying attention, but she felt uneasy about the color of the cauldrons themselves. They weren't using their own pewter ones, but some other kind that Snape had provided. She couldn't tell in the dark, but it seemed that they were a slightly different shade than pewter gray...  
  
Kat looked at their instructions. "All right, now we have to take the cauldron off the fire."  
  
Without thinking too much about it, Ael reached out to move the cauldron - and had to bite back a pain-filled howl. Tiny smoke tendrils curled up from her hands, and she swore under her breath. "Damn, Kat, the cauldron's silver!"  
  
A look of alarm crossed the vampire's face. "Let me see your hands." Ael held them out, and Kat inspected the blisters. "Looks like second-degree." She let out a low whistle. "Got you bad, didn't it?"  
  
"Twenty points from Gryffindor," Snape sneered from behind them, "for being stupid enough to touch a hot cauldron." His dark eyes burned into Ael's (which decided to be green today), and she had the ugly suspicion that he knew she was a werewolf. "Miss Phillips, please escort Miss Bolt to the Hospital Wing."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Christopher came to visit her when he found out she'd missed lunch. "It hasn't even been a week and you're already in the infirmary?" he said, shaking his head in mild amusement. "Such a klutz. My own sister."  
  
"Oh, bugger off," she snarled half-heartedly. Oh, how she longed to rip the bandages off so she could make a proper fist and introduce it to his nose. Fortunately for him, Madame Pomfrey swept into the room and shooed him out abruptly, exclaiming that the young werewolf needed her rest. She soon found herself on the recieving end of said punch.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Two hours later, Ael was let out of the infirmary with strict orders not to do too much with her hands until the next day. Thankfully, her absence from class only extended to the free period after lunch, and she was able to make it to Defense Against the Dark Arts - her favorite class, which was ironic, all things considered - which was not shared with any other House that hour.  
  
"A'rright nuw," Professor MacBride said in his unbelievably thick Scottish brogue, picking up a piece of chalk and beginning to scrawl across the blackboard. "T'day we'll be wurkin' on identifyuin uncurrable Darrk Currses, and thuir effects on magic folk."  
  
"Aye, vampirres and werewolves!" came the high, scratchy voice of MacBride's parrot, Willy. The rainbow-colored bird had a brogue to rival MacBride's, and didn't hesitate to ridicule anyone - including his master - from his perch on the desk. Willy bobbed up and down quickly. "Banshees and selkies and politishuns, aye!"  
  
MacBride ignored his parrot. "Nuw, who ken tell me an uncurrable Darrk Currse?"  
  
Akiru's hand shot up in a motion remeiscent of Hermione. "Quintapeds," he stated.  
  
MacBride nodded and scribbled the name across the board. "Quintapeds arre rrumorred to bin human at a time, but a clan rrivalrry led to thuir transfurmations inta th' five-legged beasties. Thuir also nut verry frriendly, aye, downrright nasty li'' buggers." He looked up. "Whut else?"  
  
Ael promptly raised her hand. "Vampires."  
  
MacBride's eyes glinted in some form of amusement. "Aye, vampirres." He wrote as he spoke. "Once human themselves, they wur bitten by anuther vampire and Changed, forreverr fated to surrive off blood and walk in th' shadows. Most are innocent people who are shunned b'cause of sumthin' they cannae control. The more violent ones are rehabilitated, exiled, or killed by means that include the crucifix, wooden stake through the heart, or fire." He grinned. "Whut else?"  
  
Connemara shot Ael a glance before raising her hand. "Werewolves," she said, and Ael was amused at the fact that everyone's eyes immediately darted to her.  
  
MacBride was definitely amused. "Oh, aye lassie, werewolves." He leaned over his desk. "Tell me, young lass Bolt, all abuit werewolves, please."  
  
Ael shot her classmates a grin. "Werewolves are ordinary people for most of the month, although the time varies with the type of werewolf - Natural, Bitten, Cursed, Demonic, or Hereditary. The other time is served as a magical wolf, most of which crave human blood - which only serves to either pass on the curse, or feed the wolf. Some types of werewolves can transform at will, in addition to being forced at the full moon. Werewolves are often discriminated against because of their savage sides, even if they have taken precautions not to bite any human. They can be killed by silver, although some need the silver to enter their blood to be harmful, and any major injury to vital organs can lead to death. Decapitation and paralysis also suffice."  
  
The entire class stared at her in a mix of amusement and horror. MacBride smirked. "Twenty points t' Grryiffindorr, and I'll make it fifty if ye shuw us yer wolf form."  
  
There were cries of fear and disgust from a few, but a glare from Connemara silenced them. Ael stood up and moved away from her desk. "As I said before," she continued, speaking to those who thought it was a stupid idea, "some werewolves can transform at will in addition to the forced change at the full moon, and that voluntary transformation is *completely under the werewolf's control*. It's exactly like being a very odd-looking Animagus." And with that, she sketched a quick bow and became a wolf mid-motion.  
  
There were more shouts of surprise and fear as the mischevious-looking girl was replaced by the large, silver-furred wolf. Ael-the-wolf whuffed in amusement and sat down, wagging her thick tail so it thumped against the floor. Gold-bronze eyes glinted as her mouth curved up in an approximation of a grin.  
  
Abruptly, Willy screamed, "FILTHY MANGY BEAST! COME ON OV'R HERE AND I'LL KICK YER TEETH IN!"  
  
The werewolf leapt a good seven feet in the air and let out a shriek so loud, it nearly shattered the windows. Willy squawked in fear and flapped up into the rafters as the wolf whipped around, snarling at him. A moment later and the wolf blinked in confusion, then became Ael again in the blink of an eye. "Ow..." she muttered, rubbing her ears.  
  
"Ten more points t' Grryffindorr," MacBride said, smiling.  
  
"Huh? What for?" Ael asked in confusion.  
  
MacBride grinned. "Whut else, but fur not eatin' Willy?"  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"That was so cool!" Connemara exclaimed on the way back to Gryffindor Tower. "A real live werewolf, unrestrained and not trying to eat anyone!"  
  
Ael smiled and rolled her eyes. "Trust me, the novelty wears off after a few full moons."  
  
Connemara didn't seem to hear her. "And that noise you made at Willy...maybe we should start calling you Shriek!"  
  
Ael laughed, but something about the name struck a chord. "Yeah, maybe you should. It's got a nice ring to it. Shriek the werewolf!"  
  
"Whatever you say, Shriek," Kat said as she caught up with them, Chris at her heels, along with a shy Ravenclaw first-year named Aislin. Khense was nowhere to be seen, although Ael guessed that he'd either wanted to talk to a professor, or vice versa.  
  
"Sure thing, Fang," Ael immediately replied. She looked over at Connemara, knowing that the Irish girl would soon be demanding her own nickname, and started considering. Her friend was obsessed with horses - could even talk to them - so it would have to do something with that. She also daydreamed in class sometimes, getting her head in the clouds...  
  
Right on cue, Connemara said, "Okay, so what about me?"  
  
Ael grinned. "Whyever do you need to ask, Cloudmane?" She made a motion of pawing at the air with hooves, and Connemara chuckled.  
  
Chris looked over at Aislin. "Bit crazy, aren't they, Eire?"  
  
Aislin started slighty at being addressed directly. "Er...right."  
  
The group continued to trade banter as they made their way to the library. Ael spotted Hermione almost dragging Harry and Ron in the same direction, even though both boys looked reluctant to do their homework on a Friday afternoon. She smiled and shook her head, and was about to turn back and comment when something caught her attention.  
  
["Bladessss..."]  
  
Ael and Kat glanced at each other uneasily, and stopped walking. The three other girls halted, confused at their friends' strange behavior. "Did you hear that?" Ael asked her vampiric friend.  
  
["Blood...bladessss and fangssss..."]  
  
"Definitely did," Kat agreed, turning in a slow circle and scanning for the speaker.  
  
Ael straightened as a thought occurred to her, and she cast a glance in Harry's direction. Sure enough, the seventh-year hero was standing stock-still in the corridor, head cocked to the side for better listening. "Be right back," she muttered to the group, then elbowed her way through the crowd. She grabbed Harry's sleeve. "Harry Potter. I know you heard that, but no one else does. Is there a snake nearby?"  
  
Harry looked down at her with a frown, then nodded. "Yes. But the last time this happened was...six years ago...and the basilisk is dead."  
  
["Protect bladessss...usssse fangssss, glare...protect bladessss!"]  
  
They both looked up at the ceiling at this, following the sound of the voice. "Well, there's definitely something demented up there," Ael observed.  
  
"Perhaps not," Harry disagreed. "But then, I haven't spoken with many snakes. You have?"  
  
She nodded. "A bit."  
  
By now, Ron and Hermione were staring at them in open horror at the thought of another basilisk, and the group of four girls (plus Khense, who had caught up sometime after Ael had temporarily left) had arrived. Ael and Harry shared a quick interchange, completely in hisses, and turned to their respective groups. "To the library."   
  
~  
  
TBC... 


	5. The Howling

This chapter: The trio and Ael's group research about the basilisk. Ael decides to do some independant study and tracking. Werewolf senses get a good workout.  
  
~  
  
Chapter Five - The Howling  
  
~  
  
"Find anything yet?"  
  
Hermione looked up as Ael approached her. "Nothing yet," she admitted reluctantly. "But then, we haven't been searching long."  
  
Ael snorted. *'Haven't been searching long' my tail. Only three hours.* She didn't say this out loud, however, and plunked down in a somewhat plush armchair near the fireplace in Gryffindor Tower. After hearing the disconcerting voice in the walls, the group of first-years had gone with the Trio to the library and checked out all the books they could find on basilisks, parselmouths, and Salazar Slytherin. It didn't help that throughout the entire time, the parselmouths in the group (namely Harry and Ael, but Kat could understand it even if she couldn't speak it) could hear the voice hissing continuously about protecting its blades...*whatever -that- means,* Ael grumbled silently.  
  
["Bladesss...protect bladesss..."] the voice whispered again.  
  
*Okay, that's enough,* she decided. "I'll be right back," Ael said, following the voice with her eyes. Before Hermione could object, or even alert Harry, she'd disappeared out the Fat Lady's portrait.  
  
Outside the Tower, the voice began to move away quickly. Ael had to jog to keep up, and even so, it pulled ahead.  
  
["Protect bladesss..."]  
  
The voice seemed to be racing her to an out-of-order girls' lavatory. She put on a burst of speed, skidding around the corner into the room. She caught a glimpse of something large and scaly darting out of sight behind a sink, but as she circled it she couldn't find anything unusual.  
  
She bent downward and sniffed. Long ago, she could smell, Harry and Ron had been here - even longer back, so was Hermione. Overpowering even the scents of thousands of girls was the coppery tang of blood, and the hot, foul stench of snake.  
  
As she sniffed again, she caught the bitter smell of ink and waterlogged parchment. Within these scents lurked something foul, as if it was rotting - which, she belatedly realized, must be the very scent of Tom Riddle.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Ael jumped in surprise - it wasn't often that she couldn't smell, if not hear, someone coming. But as she sought out the speaker, she understood why she hadn't. "Hello, Myrtle."  
  
The miserable-looking ghost was hovering over a cubicle door. She eyed Ael suspiciously. "I asked you a question."  
  
"I'm looking for snakes," Ael replied evasively.  
  
"Looks more like you were smelling the sink," Myrtle countered.  
  
"Oh...er..." Ael figured the ghost wouldn't blab anything. "I'm a werewolf. I can track things by scent."  
  
"A werewolf? That's scary!" Myrtle shuddered. "You aren't going to -bite- anyone are you?"  
  
"No," Ael tried to reassure her, but Myrtle obviously didn't believe it as she had taken refuge in the nearest U-bend.  
  
Ael stared at it, then rolled her eyes. "Not like you can bite someone who's already dead," she muttered to the empty room.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Find what you were looking for?" Harry asked as Ael re-entered the Tower.  
  
Ael shook her head. "Not exactly. I followed the snake's voice all the way to Myrtle's bathroom, but it wasn't in there."  
  
The Trio exchanged significant glances with each other. "The Chamber," Ron said. Harry nodded.  
  
"The Chamber of Secrets?" Ael interrupted. At their incredulous stares, she shrugged. "My brother talks. A lot."  
  
Harry closed his eyes, and as Ael began to smell Tom Riddle, he hissed. ["The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is hidden in that bathroom," he said in parseltongue. "I killed the basilisk, or at least a basilisk down there five years ago. Do not go down there. It isn't safe."]  
  
Ael hissed in displeasure, but nodded.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Tjen shebi kheper maa'et! A basilisk?"  
  
It was the morning after Ael's trip to Myrtle's bathroom. Kat, Khense, Chris, Aislin, Connemara, and Ael were gathered in the school courtyard. Ael had just finished explaining all she'd seen and heard about the mysterious voice.  
  
"Yes, Khense," Kat said patiently. "That is what she said."  
  
Khense looked somewhat embarrassed by his outburst. "Right. I was just, er, surprised."  
  
Connemara snorted, horse-like, in amusement. "Around the Terrific Trio? You really shouldn't be."  
  
"The point is," Chris interrupted, "there's a potentially deadly, demented snake slithering about the school, and we know where it lives. Shouldn't we do something about this? Go after it, perhaps?"  
  
Ael shook her head. "Several problems with that. First, we hardly know any good defensive spells. Kat and I might stand a chance, but if it is a basilisk, our so-called 'Dark' natures won't help much. Second, the professors can handle it. Third, I promised Harry we wouldn't." She sighed. "If, later in the year, the snake is still around, I'll break my promise to Harry, but I refuse to drag any of you into it. If anyone goes with me, they'll need to be able to help - so let's all study extra-hard, just in case."  
  
~  
  
TBC... 


	6. Full Moon High

A/N: Another incredibly short chapter, but one with an important plot point in it, as well as a bit of foreshadowing.  
  
~ Chapter Six - Full Moon High ~  
  
"AwrrrRRROOOOOOOOOOOO!"  
  
The full moon hung low on the horizon, casting its silvery light across snowy turf and casting deep shadows on the Whomping Willow. As the moon slowly sank out of sight, a wolf staggered out into the snow, writhing in pain as it slowly became an eleven-year-old girl.  
  
It was ten days before Christmas. The snake in the walls had not been heard since late September, but the group of first-years had studied extra-hard in Charms and Transfiguration. By some gift, natural-born or lycanthrope- linked, Ael had made rapid progression with spells and curses. Upon hearing Harry remark that she was nearly at the point in the curriculum where he'd mastered the Patronus Charm, she had turned to learning that as well.  
  
At this point, however, all she could do was trudge through the snow and make her way to the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey was waiting to give her Pepperup Potion and let her sleep in.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
When she woke up, somewhere around noon, she found herself looking at the Slytherin boy, Zelgadis Greywers. A few weeks before, Kat had introduced the withdrawn kid to her, and they had hit it off splendidly. Zelgadis, or "Zel" as she liked to call him, had some interesting views on Dark Creatures - as in he really didn't mind them, and actually held a certain fondness for lycanthropes - and had taken to making sure Ael was okay after each full moon. Of course, he had the added bonus of keeping her occupied when the overprotective Hogwarts matron wouldn't let her do anything, but he didn't exactly intend that from the start.  
  
"Hey, Zel," Ael said, yawning as she sat up, cracking the joints in her back with a deliberate motion.  
  
Zelgadis jumped in surprise, dropping his copy of 'Hairy Snout, Human Heart' in the process. "Ael, you're awake!"  
  
"Oh, well spotted!" Yup, that was Ael - sarcastic and witty, no matter what circumstances. *Hmm, nothing broken,* she decided as she stretched. *Only minor bruises. Not a bad night, then.* "What time is it?"  
  
"Lunch," Zelgadis answered, picking up his book. "Your friend...Connemara?...took notes in Potions and Herbology for you." He gestured to her bedside table, where there was a roll of parchment or two. "She dropped it off ten minutes ago, but you were still asleep. You gonna make it to your other classes?"  
  
She nodded. "I've only got one more class, in the afternoon. I'm pretty sure I can do it." She kicked back the sheets and flopped back down on the pillows. "Mmm, sleeping in on Mondays. I could get used to this." She winked at him, prompting a shy smile from the brown-haired boy. "So," she continued, propping herself up on one elbow, "what's your plans for Christmas holidays?"  
  
He shrugged. "Rezo and I are staying this year, just to see what a Hogwarts Christmas is like. Still exchanging gifts, just by owl. What about you?"  
  
"I'm staying too," she told him. "My parents are sending me stuff by owl too, so I'll have to send Jewlz back to Randolph Ave soon. All my other friends are here, so no need to go home for that either." She looked over at him. "I've already got a gift for you," she teased.  
  
Unfortunately - or perhaps it was fortunate - Zelgadis admitted that he'd also gotten one for her, something that embarrassed him to no end. He didn't often buy gifts for girls he hardly knew, although there was something beyond this one being a werewolf.  
  
Although they were blissfully unaware of it, this marked the start of something more.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Ooooh! Zel, thank you!" Ael squealed on Christmas morning as she held up a pair of elbow-length deer hide gloves. She pulled them on and tackled Zelgadis in a thank-you hug, provoking a blush and a stammered "you're welcome" from the Slytherin boy.  
  
As most of Slytherin had gone home for the holidays, Kat had gotten together with the other Slytherin first-years and invited their out-of- House friends to spend Christmas in their dorm. After a late night of staying up around the fireplace (despite the lack of plush couches and other nice furniture, like Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had in their common rooms) and drinking eggnog, the group of first-years had gone down to the empty dorm and slept in past noon (except Kat, who didn't quite have the same needs but went along with it anyway). Gift exchange had started not long after Connemara wandered back from notifying the house elves that there was a bunch of students in search of a good breakfast.  
  
Ael had gotten a plushie wolf from her mother - something that amused her greatly, as her Muggle mother was quite frightened of werewolves - and a broomstick catalog from her father, with a note saying that if she was interested in trying out for Quidditch next year, she could have her pick of the broom.  
  
She had also been amused at the gifts from her friends. Many of them had gotten her spellbooks and pewter figurines - something that startled her until she realized they weren't silver - while she had given out copies of 'How To Identify Werewolves' by Remus J. Lupin. ("One, he's wearing my clothes. Two, he's sitting in my chair. Three, his name's Remus Lupin.") Kat, who knew her better, got her an index of great prank spells and ideas - most of which would be used over the next few years.but that's later.  
  
"That's not all," Zelgadis told Ael once his face resumed a normal hue. He handed her a rectangular gift, and she tore off the paper to reveal a copy of 'Parselmouths: A Factual History' by Szymon S. Serpens.  
  
Shortly thereafter, Zel found himself blushing even more forcefully than before, as Ael had practically jumped into his lap and gave him a smooch on the cheek.  
  
Needless to say, Ael's mischievous nature got a great chance to come out and play that Christmas. By the time the first-years went to bed that night, everyone had gotten a turn at being turned into random small animals, including squirrels, rabbits, and raccoons ("I know they're only American animals," she defended herself at the latter, "but I'm getting homesick!").  
  
~  
  
TBC... 


	7. Wolfen

A/N: And here we go...right into the middle of the action. This chapter holds foreshadowing for the RP, as well as sets the stage for Ael's sixth year.  
  
~ Chapter Seven - Wolfen ~  
  
Late one evening in January, Ael was sprawled across her bed, reading the parselmouth book that Zel had gotten her for Christmas. "The first known parselmouth was Salazar Slytherin blah blah blah." she read aloud, and skipped a page - then stopped. There, halfway down the page and painted in shining silver and green, was a dagger. Not just any dagger, this one seemed to have a hilt made of two entwined, living snakes - of a type she'd never seen before - that held three bright emeralds in their coils. The blade was fairly plain and gracefully curved, but that was ignored due to the strangeness of the hilt and the fishlike snakes that composed it.  
  
"Slytherin's Dagger," she read, "was created by Salazar Slytherin as the anti-blade of Godric Gryffindor's sword. It holds untapped powers that can only be accessed by a parselmouth, but as there are no parselmouths trustworthy enough to test what powers it holds, this remains unknown. A basilisk is said to guard the dagger, although its hiding place is unknown but rumored to be the fabled Chamber of Secrets. In the event that the basilisk died, Slytherin charmed the serpent so that its body would create an heir from its own flesh in the form of an egg, then incubate it in its own blood." She stuck out her tongue. "Yech, that sounds really gross."  
  
"The infant basilisk would remain dormant for several years, then awaken and search out the dagger before moving on to find a food source, which is usually the parent basilisk. However, in cases where the basilisk does not provide enough food, the young serpent may venture forth and search out live prey, including wizards."  
  
["Blood."]  
  
THAT was not in the text. Ael's head jerked up as the near-forgotten voice whispered its chilling message from a few floors down. ["Ssso hungry.find food."]  
  
"It -is- a basilisk," she whispered. "A -baby basilisk- is in the school."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry Potter looked up from staring into the common room fireplace. "Ael?" he asked, sounding confused and somewhat sleepy. She guiltily remembered that it was almost midnight, but continued down the stairs. If the basilisk was keeping him awake too, he might as well know what it is.  
  
Wordlessly, she shoved the open book into his hands and let him read for himself. After a few minutes, he gave the book back. "So, it's a hatchling, then." It wasn't a question.  
  
"A -hungry- hatchling," Ael agreed. "And judging by the last thing I heard it say, it might not wait much longer before finding a tasty wizard snack, and I don't mean chocolate frogs."  
  
Harry nodded absently as he stood up, preparing to leave. Mid-motion, he changed his mind and looked back at her. After a long moment, he jerked his head towards the door and they left together under the refuge of Harry's invisibility cloak.  
  
"Just out of curiosity," she whispered as they made their way toward Myrtle's bathroom, "why did you decide to bring me along? You've got a reputation for going into these things alone, and I haven't known you to let someone else come without a great amount of arguing on their part."  
  
"You're the only other parselmouth I know and trust," he explained under his breath. "You also have an impressive amount of spells that you've learned. Not to mention I've learned the value of lycanthropic comrades."  
  
The rest of the trip was made in silence. Upon arrival at Myrtle's bathroom, Harry hissed, "Open," to a particularly grimy sink. With a swirl of light, it was replaced by a large, dark, damp pipe, which he took no time at all in sliding down. Shrugging, she likewise jumped in, and the next few seconds became one thrilling roller coaster ride to the bottom, completely in the dark.  
  
"Less glamorous than I expected," Ael remarked as she followed him deep under the school, crunching rat skeletons underfoot. Brackish water seeped around her sneakers, soaking her socks and chilling her ankles.  
  
"I was no more impressed," Harry agreed, ignoring the filth and pulling out his wand. Ael did likewise, and followed him to the next chamber within the caverns. Part of the ceiling was caved in, but a man-sized hole had been created near the pile of rocks caused by the cave-in. There were scorch marks on the floor, as well as several sets of footprints and bits of shredded snakeskin.  
  
"If you see something moving, close your eyes," Harry advised as he turned to step through the hole. He waited for her to catch up, then turned to the nearby wall. Set into it was a huge round door made of cast bronze, with nine basilisks seemingly carved into it and reaching out from the leftside hinge, clamping their jaws onto pins on the wall.  
  
["Open,"] Harry hissed to the door, and the basilisks released the clamps as another bronze basilisk slithered out of the hinge and past their noses. As it vanished into the hinge again, the door creaked open outwards, revealing an enormous chamber hall of snake head statues, deep pools of black water, and a sixty-foot tall bust of Slytherin at the far end that had its mouth open. An old snake skeleton, twice as long as the Slytherin statue was tall, was strewn in front of the open mouth, surrounded by old blood and ink stains.  
  
["Intrudersss..."]  
  
Ael glanced around nervously at the voice, looking for any sign of scales glinting or eyeshine. Harry appeared slightly anxious as well, but kept searching for any sign of Slytherin's Dagger rather than risking Petrification (eye contact wouldn't kill either of them, thanks to their glasses, but if Harry was an immovible statue it wouldn't help Ael any and vice versa).  
  
A glint of silver caught Ael's eye, and she looked up to see a small, snake- engraved knife, cleverly camoflagued into the forehead of Slytherin.  
  
"Harry, there!" she called, pointing up to it.  
  
["PROTECT!"]  
  
A huge mass of scales and slime barreled out of the shadows, slamming Harry across the side and knocking his wand out of his hand. The basilisk - for that's what the creature was - wrapped its long tail around The Boy Who Lived twice as if to constrict, crush, and then eat him...which it probably intended to do, had Ael not acted.  
  
Being cautious not to catch the serpent's eye, she snatched up Harry's fallen wand as if drawn to it, feeling a faint strain of phoenix song as she did so. Concentrating hard, she called up the feelings of surprised joy and acceptance she'd felt when Zelgadis admitted he liked werewolves and wanted to be her friend...  
  
"*EXPECTO PATRONUM!*"  
  
With a melodic cry, a silver-white, swan-sized bird erupted from the end of the wand, spreading its impressive wingspan and glowing a bright, fiery aura. The phoenix Patronus cawed loudly, then dove for the basilisk's face.  
  
Though Harry's eyes were closed, a faint smile tugged at his lips as his mind returned to another battle between noble phoenix and basilisk several years prior. However, the battle was not to replay the same as before, thanks to a new element - Ael.  
  
The lycanthropic girl whipped out her own wand and shot a ball of slime into the basilisk's eyes, temporarily blinding it. While the Patronus raked its illusory claws over the serpent's snout - causing it to loosen its grip on Harry - she transformed to werewolf and lunged for the snake.  
  
The poor hatchling didn't know what had happened until it was sent, reeling and dizzy, to crash unconscious on the stone floor.  
  
"Nice spellwork," Harry complimented her as she helped heave the slack coils off him and handed him his wand. "I've never seen a Patronus quite like that one."  
  
"It's a new development," she explained. "Although my wand has phoenix feather at its core, I know yours is not just any old feather, but one from Fawkes and therefore more powerful than mine. If you hadn't dropped it where I could get to it, it wouldn't have worked."  
  
"Well, the means don't matter. What matters is that you have progressed remarkably since your first day." He grinned at her. "Now let's get what we came for, shall we?"  
  
The pair approached the statue, and Ael sent her Patronus up to retrieve the gleaming dagger. The phoenix pried it free of the crumbling stone and flew overhead, vanishing midflight. Harry caught the dagger by the hilt as it fell.  
  
Upon contact with his hand, the two strange-looking hilt snakes sprang to life, craning their sinewy necks to look up at Harry, emerald eyes glinting in awe. ["Massster'sss touch,"] they hissed in eerie unison. ["Massster hasss come back for usss!"]  
  
["Excuse me,"] Ael hissed politely, ["but what do you mean?"]  
  
The twin serpents blinked at her in surprise, raising their heads to examine her. ["Two Massstersss..."] their double-voices spoke. ["Massstersss of ssserpentsss...long have we waited for your return. Pleassse, take usss and ussse usss asss you will. We are your ssservantsss."]  
  
Harry and Ael exchanged a glance. "You can keep it," Ael said. "You're the Boy Who Lived, you deserve it more than me."  
  
"No," he disagreed. "It wants to be used, and it would just sit on a shelf or buried in a closet if I took it. Besides, I have a feeling you'll need it." He held the knife out to her, hilt-first.  
  
After a moment's thought, she reached up and accepted the dagger. The hilt- snakes hissed in contentment under her hand like a cat purring. ["Ssshe- Massster..."]  
  
She looked back at the unconscious basilisk hatchling. "What about him? He's got nothing to guard, nothing to eat...but we can't take him with us unless we blind him, and that would be beyond inhumane."  
  
Harry pondered this, then snaped his fingers. "You need a familiar," he decided, and pointed his wand at the snake. With a few well-chosen words of Latin, the basilisk shrank and became a moderately-sized python - considerably less dangerous.  
  
"How's that?" he asked.  
  
She smiled. "Perfect."  
  
~  
  
To be concluded... 


	8. Dances With Wolves

A/N: The not-so-dramatic conclusion to My Life As A Teenage Werewolf. For those of you who think you can just skip right to this chapter: go back and read the whole thing. To anyone who hasn't read since last update, start with chapter three.  
  
Yet to come: "Filler" scenes from between first-year and the RP, and then the nozelization of the RP.  
  
~ Chapter Eight - Dances With Wolves ~  
  
"You did *WHAT*?!"  
  
Ael grinned at a dumbstruck Connemara. "Went down the Chamber of Secrets, got the bumper sticker to prove it."  
  
"And you brought back the basilisk," Connemara continued in disbelief.  
  
"Hey," Ael protested, gesturing to the lazy python draped across her shoulders. "Szymon isn't a basilisk -anymore-."  
  
["That'sss what YOU think,"] the python muttered sleepily, but quieted as his new master scratched his scales between his now-harmless eyes.  
  
Unaware of this exchange, Connemara went on. "If that weren't enough, you got Slytherin's Dagger while you were at it?"  
  
"Chill, Conners. Breathe a bit," Ael suggested. Her friend took no notice.  
  
"And you didn't think to take -me- along?"  
  
Ael laughed. "And what would you've done to help? Neigh at it? Typical Gryffindor mentality."  
  
Connemara giggled. "You sure you weren't supposed to be a Slytherin?"  
  
"Positive. Sorry to disappoint you."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Looking back some years later, Ael was surprised at how anti-climatic the end of the first year was. With the dagger in custody and the basilisk captured, there was no mystery to be solved in the last few weeks, as there had been for the previous six years - except for Professor MacBride's parrot had somehow gotten stuck to the ceiling of the DADA classroom, prompting said teacher to resign and give the bird time to recover from such a traumatizing incident. Quidditch continued as usual, and in the final game of the year, Gryffindor trounced Slytherin and reclaimed the Quidditch Cup.  
  
"Just think," Ael mused after the game. "Next year, we'll be old enough to be on the team."  
  
"The game seems rather tame after what I've done," Harry commented from behind her.  
  
She shot a grin at him over her shoulder. "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure I can find a way to spice it up a little - if not in House Quidditch, then over the summer." She tossed him a notebook that had the word 'Rochball' scrawled across the top in Ael's spidery handwriting. "I've actually been working on it all year."  
  
Harry flipped through it and raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That sounds dangerous."  
  
"Danger? Hah!" She couldn't resist. "I walk on the wild side! I laugh in the face of danger, hwuahahahaaaaa!" Harry, being muggle-raised, got the joke. "Seriously though, there's a favor I've been wanting to ask you."  
  
Harry blinked in surprise. "Er...go for it."  
  
"Kat and I have been thinking that the Ministry has been sugar-coating the events of your years at this school too much," she explained. "We want your permission and help in writing the truth of what happened here - under a pen name, of course."  
  
Harry's jaw dropped. "You want to do -what-?" He stared at her and thought about it, and then a smile tugged at his lips. "Sure, why not? It can't hurt."  
  
"Good." She laughed nervously. "Because I already released the first book to the muggle publishing last year."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
The last day was somewhat sad in nature. The first-years were going home for the holidays, but the seventh-years - including Harry Potter - were going their seperate ways for a final time. Also leaving was a majority of the Gryffindor Quidditch team - though Ron was planning on working in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and Harry had already gotten a contract to play Seeker for the Montrose Magpies.  
  
As the train pulled into Platform 9 ¾, Ael winked at Kat. "See you next full moon." The vampire gave her a thumbs-up as she gathered her stuff, then left with her parents.  
  
"Next year," Connemara concurred, mock-saluting.  
  
"Ditto and likewise," Zelgadis unexpectedly chimed in. He winked at Ael. "You don't get into any trouble now, you hear me?"  
  
She looked mock-offended, placing a hand over her heart. "Me, get in trouble? Why, I don't know when I've ever been so insulted." She grinned and grabbed her trunk and owl cage, making her way out as nonchalantly as one could with a large python on their shoulders and acting as though it had always been there.  
  
"Well, shall we go home?" she said to her family.  
  
Her brother shook his head mock-sadly. "Crazy werewolf," he said affectionately, messing up her hair.  
  
She laughed. "Ah, but that's 'lunatic' thank you very much!"  
  
Amidst the groans of "bad pun!" and "boooo!", the Bolt family left Kings Cross for the summer.  
  
~  
  
To be continued in...  
  
The Sixth Year From Hell RP 


	9. Two additional scenes

~ Additional Scenes #1: The Founding of the Marauders ReSorted ~  
  
"Ta-da!"  
  
"Uh...nice, Fang. It's an empty piece of parchment."  
  
"Yes, that's what it LOOKS like, doesn't it Eire? Go ahead, Shriek. Tell them what it REALLY is."  
  
"This, my friends...is an updated version of the infamous Marauders Map."  
  
"No way! How'd you make it?"  
  
"Erm, Whitetail, remember how Kat and I have been in touch with Harry Potter? He sent us the original."  
  
"Ooohhh...excellent. Does it do the insult thing too?"  
  
"Yup, and it's even with our own personalities." A wand was drawn from a sleeve, and tapped the parchment. "Troublemaking is our game."  
  
*You got THAT right!* the map spelled out in bright silver ink, looking somewhat sloppy against the parchment.  
  
*You really need to work on your handwriting, Shriek,* a fancy red scrawl appeared underneath it.  
  
*It's not OUR fault you've got such great writing, Fang,* another personality joined in with black ink, the handwriting looking a bit neater than Shriek's, but nowhere near as perfect as Fang's.  
  
*And as for the rest of us, Cloudmane, we don't care,* blue letters proclaimed.  
  
*I think they want us to show them the map, Whitetail,* tan ink interrupted.  
  
*Oh, fine, Eire,* the silver ink wrote. *Not to get all 'Prince of Egypt' on you, but...behold!* The writing vanished to reveal an incredibly detailed version of the Marauder's Map. Across the top, it read: MISSES SHRIEK, FANG, CLOUDMANE, WHITETAIL, AND EIRE - NEWLY-APPOINTED TROUBLEMAKERS AND PRANKSTERS, TERRORS OF HOGWARTS HALLS AND SLYTHERINS - ARE PROUD TO PRESENT THE MARAUDERS MAP: THE SEQUEL.  
  
"So we're official Marauders now, huh?"  
  
"We were before, Conners, or have you all forgotten our Animagus lessons so soon?"  
  
"Hard to forget a bloody white crocodile taking up half the room, Ael."  
  
"Hey, better a croc than a horse, I always say. Although...Kat, how come *you* got the cobra Animagus, and *Khense* got the bat?"  
  
"Reverse stereotypes, my dear werewolf. Besides, *he* isn't a Marauder, so it doesn't matter."  
  
"That reminds me. Aislin?"  
  
"Yes, Chris?"  
  
"I apologize for trying to eat you that one time. That's what dogs do to cats, right?"  
  
"I guess so, but please try a little harder next time to refrain from chasing me around the castle. Else I'll tell a certain black panther to give me some vengeance."  
  
"Oi, don't you be trying to steal my boyfriend, girlies!"  
  
"Don't worry so much, Ael."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~ Additional Scenes #2: Ael and Zelgadis, sittin' in a tree... ~  
  
Zelgadis Greywers couldn't remember being more nervous in his entire life. Ael was looking at him somewhat suspiciously as he squirmed in his seat. "Zel? Is something wrong?"  
  
"Um, no, everything's fine, thanks." No matter how hard he tried to keep it down, a blush kept rising to his cheeks. *Nothing except your very presence is driving me mad, but oh well.*  
  
"...right." Another few minutes passed in silence, until she spoke again. "Zel?"  
  
"YIPE! Er, what is it?"  
  
"Are you SURE nothing's wrong?"  
  
"Uh..." *Do or die, Zelgadis,* he told himself. "Ael, we're friends, right?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"We've known each other for almost five years now, hasn't it been? Do you consider me to...what I mean to say...the fact of the matter is...I think I'm in love with you." *Oh, THAT was real smooth, Greywers.*  
  
Of course, he needn't worry too much, because her face lit up. "Oh, is that so?" He nodded, somewhat subdued by what her precieved to be a stupid and tactless mistake. "Well, good. Because I thought it was just me."  
  
His head shot up. "Wha...you mean...you...you know...?"  
  
She laughed, and tapped him on the nose. "Yes, I do...you know. So how about it, boyfriend?"  
  
One thing was for sure: sixth year was going to be quite different.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
And that's it for now, folks. Join us next time, same batty time, same batty channel for the Sixth Year From Hell! 


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